It is fundamentally known that adjustable cams or cam segments in respect of their positioning on the shaft rod of a camshaft, in particular in the case of valve-controlled internal combustion engines, serve for specific influencing of the control times of the valves of the internal combustion engine in respect of the available power thereof and of the torque, wherein, for example, the fuel consumption and consequently the emission of exhaust gases can thereby also be reduced. For the adjustment or positioning of at least one cam or a cam segment, wherein a cam segment may also consist of at least two cams comprising cam contours which are oriented differently with respect to one another or are arranged with respect to one another or differ from one another, an outer shaft of the camshaft is rotated in a known manner relative to an inner shaft of the camshaft, which inner shaft is arranged coaxially with respect to the outer shaft, and vice versa, and therefore the cams which are connected rotatably to the outer shaft, but fixedly to the inner shaft, are moved relative to the cams which are connected fixedly to the outer shaft. For the adjustment or positioning of the cams or the cam segments with respect to one another, use is made, for example, of a phase shifter which permits a rotation of the inner shaft relative to the outer shaft, and therefore a phase displacement of the valve control times can be achieved or the opening duration of the valves can be varied.
Fundamentally known camshaft adjusters or phase adjusters are designed, for example, in the form of a swivel motor which is provided with a plurality of vanes in order to increase the transmittable torque. Said phase shifter, which is also referred to as swivel motor phase adjuster, is operated with engine oil pressure. Furthermore, it is fundamentally known that a phase shifter of this type is placed in the force transmission in the region of the camshaft ends and comprises drive elements which are connected directly or else indirectly to the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine and are advantageously also driven by said crankshaft. Adjusting elements of a phase shifter of this type are rotated relative to the drive elements because of a hydraulic actuation in order consequently to permit an intended phase adjustment of the camshaft relative to the crankshaft.
When the phase shifter is connected to the camshaft, in particular in the construction in which the rotor element of the phase shifter is arranged on the inner shaft of the camshaft and the stator element of the phase shifter is arranged on the outer shaft of the camshaft, component tolerances of the individual components which are connected to one another and are also operatively connected to one another, that is the inner shaft, the outer shaft, the rotor element, the stator element, etc., must be able to be compensated for in order, for example, to avoid jamming of the components and consequently an associated wear of the components and also damage to the entire camshaft adjusting device and to ensure a reliable operation of the adjustment of the cams.
WO 2011/133452 A2, for example, describes an arrangement of a flexible body which is arranged in the form of a plate between the cam adjuster and the inner shaft and outer shaft of the camshaft. However, such a flexible body extending completely over the entire connecting surface of the cam adjuster requires a large construction space, in particular in the axial direction. In addition to the use of the abovementioned flexible body, structures in respect of a double toothing or else plug-in toothing in order to be able to compensate for tolerances of the components when the phase shifter is connected to the camshaft are also known to the applicant from the general prior art. However, toothings of this type disadvantageously increase the costs of the entire construction, in particular because of the integration of an additional gearwheel. In addition, when gearwheels are used, the generally known toothing clearance should also be considered to be disadvantageous.